When fighting erupted in Sudan on April 15 of last year, local journalists quickly ran into difficulties reporting on the conflict roiling their country. As the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces – former allies who jointly seized power in a 2021 coup – engaged in street battles, journalists were assaulted, arrested, or even killed. Others found themselves stuck at home in cities and towns under siege or unable to report due to communications blackouts. Many journalists fled, resurrecting shuttered newsrooms abroad. Yet one year into the war that has killed 14,000 people and displaced millions, journalists continue their struggle to cover its devastating impact. In a new feature, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa team analyzes the top challenges to journalism in Sudan.
More on Sudan:
–CPJ urges Sudan authorities to end suspensions of 3 news outlets
–‘Back to the dark ages’: Editor Ataf Mohamed on Sudan’s wartime communications blackout
–Journalists shot, beaten, and harassed covering conflict between Sudan’s rival military groups
On April 12, an Israel Defense Forces attack on a group of Gaza journalists wearing press insignia while reporting from the Nuseirat refugee camp resulted in Turkish broadcaster TRT cameraman Sami Shehadeh having his leg amputated. “The IDF’s disregard for press insignia, both after and prior to October 7, endangers the lives of journalists,” said CPJ’s program director, Carlos Martínez de la Serna.
CPJ called for an independent investigation into this attack, as well as the March 31 Israeli attack on the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza, in which eight journalists were injured as they sheltered and worked in a tent on the hospital grounds.
We defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.
Jam Saghir Ahmed Lar
Daily Khabrain, Pakistan
Zayd Abu Zayed
Quran Radio, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory
Myat Thu Tan
Western News, Myanmar
Mardonio Mejía
Sonora Estéreo, Colombia
Mardonio Mejía
Sonora Estéreo radio station, Colombia
Hamza Al Dahdouh
Al-Jazeera, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory